10′ Lifetime sit-on kayak.
Now I know why Richard and Dianna got a motor for their kayak – paddling is hard work!
On the water.
With my knee not getting any better and walking becoming more difficult, I rationalized that maybe paddling a boat would at least give me some exercise, so I bought a cheap kayak from Walmart through their online ordering system. You can order something and have it shipped to one of their stores for free. Most of the time I’m in a state park or backwoods road with no address so shipping to a store works well for me. The only trouble is it takes way longer to get something from Walmart than it does from Amazon Prime. It took almost two weeks for this kayak to find it’s way from Las Vegas NV to Las Vegas NM. Tracking showed it even went to California before coming back this way.
I’m not really sure how I’m going to carry it yet but I will figure it out. When I picked it up, I went to the store, left my motorcycle here at Storrie Lake, and tied the kayak to my ladder. The kayak only stuck up a foot above the roof and rode fine the four miles back to the lake.
Easy to carry if I didn’t have Honda.
Of course the weather has turned windy and rainy today so I have only tried it out for a couple quick jaunts. I made sure I stayed close to shore and paid attention to the storm clouds moving in.
The hardest part is launching. The lake is so shallow here where I’m camped that I have to walk the boat several yards into the water where it’s deap enough to float with my weight once I sit down. If you get in too early, you sit on the muddy lake bottom and your stuck.
Walking out into the water where it is deap enough to launch wouldn’t be a problem except for the consistency of the lake bed. I bought a pair of cheap sneakers to use as water shoes but the mud sucks them in like quicksand trying to pull them off with each step. Maybe I’ll get the hang of it before I have to move.
Told ya!
Yes you did but a motorboat wouldn’t be any exercise. I pondered getting an inflatable but storing that would be even more problematic. When I get my car it will be easier to put a roof rack on that.
Sounds like a fun way to get some exercise. The cardio will be great, and it’s cool and pretty out on the water. I’m sure it’ll get easier to paddle the more you do it. You know that from hiking the AT. First day – 6 miles, 150th day – 22 miles.
Believe me, setting up the boat is plenty of exercise for me! The foot pump wears me out. That’s a nice thing about a hard kayak like yours. No setup. Just put it in the water and go.
Nice! 12 foot? Do you have the double bladed kayak paddle too?
Good idea wearing a life vest